Melstone currently has a few rodeo families, Newmans, Grebes, Robinsons, Cates, and Hougens.
After my interview with Sage Newman two months ago, I was referred by a reader to speak with Kierra Hougan. Kierra, though a younger rider, had also qualified to ride rodeo in Las Vegas. Kierra is the daughter of Alan and Mikell Hougen. Alan and Mikell both rode rodeo for many years. Alan in Roping and Mikell in Barrell Racing. Kierra seems to prefer to do both. She is currently racing barrels as well as Breakaway Roping. She is part of the Montana High School Rodeo Association.
Kierra is homeschooled, and during her breaks from studying, she rides and ropes. She has two quarter horses. Rooster, her barrel horse that was trained by her mother, and Shorty, her break a way horse. Both horses are ten years old. Kierra rides her horses six days a week, ropes two to three times a week, and the high school rodeos are on Saturdays and Sundays. She is fifteen, a sophomore, and works very hard to stay in shape for her sport. She explains that she has been in rodeo since she was seven years old. In seventh grade she began competing in the Junior High School rodeo. Her mother, and mentor, started in rodeo when she was ten, and barrel raced for about thirty-five years.
Barrel Racing is a clover leaf pattern race around three barrels, and winning requires the fastest finish without penalties which can include riding the pattern wrong, hitting a barrel, or nocking the barrel over. Breakaway roping is a timed roping event where the calf is not tackled or thrown down, only roped. The rope is attached to the saddle horn with a heavy string allowing it to break when a legal catch is made.
"Kierra qualified for the top ten at the Rising Stars Breakaway. She made the short go for the Junior World Finals, she placed eighth in the second round of breakaway at the Vegas Tuffest." States her mom. This was Kierra's first Vegas experience. They did a big introduction for the young rodeo riders, and they had allot of fun. Kierra rode the "Yellow felt soul", wearing yellow during her ride for suicide awareness. Some of the events she qualified for were the Short go in Junior World in Barrels, Buckeye Arizona, Vegas Stars, short round in breakaway roping, and the Hooey Junior Patriot of which she won the side pot, but may not go to Fort Worth though she qualified, according to Mikell.
All signs point to a long future in rodeo for our local Kierra. With the family background and passion for the sport, we hope that Kierra will find many years of future success.
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